Anyone crabbing yet???

[Dirichlet]

I get checked multiple times a year by DNR. They have always been extremely nice, professional, and have never given me a hassle. That being said, I don't keep anything less than 6"... what's the point?

Crabbing in the middle bay (Eastern Bay, Wye, South, Severn, Magothy, etc.) has finally started to pick up. Crabbing earlier in the year saw low numbers, but the crabs that you did catch were huge (7-8.5" and muddy). The mumbos have started to thin, and smaller crabs in high numbers are ruling the day. My last trip (3 hours of crabbing, afternoon/evening set, high winds, sunny) yielded just shy of 60 crabs on a 1000' trot line baited w/ chicken necks. Of those 60, 8 were 7"+. I probably tossed back 200+ crabs in the 4-5" range, which bodes well for this fall's crabbing.

Check out the blue crab forum's sub section for MD crabbing reports... there's generally good info in there. http://www.bluecrab.info/forum/index.php

 

[omegared24]

DNR has checked me twice in the last two years and not once in the previous 9 years before that.They have never checked my catch only the required safety gear. I have noticed they will watch you from a distance for a while before they come over and check you out. So maybe they see us measure just about all of them even the big ones.

Happened to me in Chincoteague. We were crabbing for a couple hours before he came up. Even mentioned that we had been out for a while and figured it was a good time to check. Not a big deal. He is just doing his job and not much happens in Chincoteague.

Caught 3 dozen keepers late June. They were excellent.

 

[smokedog]

DNR when being checked have always been pleasant to deal with. Only wish they would tell me where the hotspots are.